16 The Cure
by redcloudedleopard
Summary: Much like the original episode, except Johnny's deeds sometimes have their implications. Ozai is the 'storyteller' here.
1. Cured but Confused

"But – by using that data, I realized I could break you down atom by atom, & rebuild you using your original human genetic map! Piece of cake!" Reed exclaimed. His voice reverberated throughout the silent lab.

Ben who had been crossing his arms made two of his fingers into a little circle. "You're gonna take me apart? Into little pieces?" he was enquiring seriously.

I turned to see Alicia ask earnestly as well, "Reed, I'm sure you know what you're doing…but is this dangerous?"

How excited Reed must've been. He stammered, "Of course! _Not_. I mean, of course not! It's almost perfectly safe."

"Sure it is…that's why they're watching from outside. They got all the confidence in the world," came Ben's artful sarcasm. Looking into the lab through safety glass from the outside were Johnny, Susan & Azula.

"Well, _I'm_ not outside," I reminded him casually. I was next to Alicia, sort of on standby mode lest an accident would result from curing Ben. I took the 'safety precaution' of keeping my Leopard X armour on too, to protect anyone or anything at my best.

"Hardy ha ha, doc. You're in here 'cause you're helping Reed…," Ben's eyes narrowed.

Beside me, Alicia clarified, "Ben, are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yeah. I just want to be myself again."

"No matter what you look like, you'll always be Ben Grimm," she added.

It was Reed's turn to get clarification, "Ben, we don't have to --"

"Yeah. I do. Hit it, Stretch," his best friend cut him off. From what I heard as well as from experience, Ben was renowned for **being on his guard, standing firm in faith all the time. **He often spoke tersely, which some people disliked, yet everything he was on the outside was underscored by an unusual courage.

My scientist friend inhaled deeply & got to the keyboard, "H.E.R.B.I.E., begin the atomic resequencing."

The computer mentioned something hilarious, "YES! I've always wanted to disintegrate something!"

The air around Ben appeared to light up; the same happened to him in the following few seconds. He looked at his fists & sounded puzzled, "What?" But there wasn't any turning back from then on.

More white light built up around him as the lab machinery's sounds increased in volume. This was the climax of the process, & I had to force my helmet shut in time to avoid having my eyesight drastically damaged. That was it: a blasting noise far louder than anything before. The machine had done its part.

"Uhhh…what…what is this for again? The flight?" a meek but low voice asked. Looking up, I admit I was all astonishment to feast my eyes on the human Ben Grimm. I think he would still be stronger than me in physical terms, for his shoulders were unusually broad & square. He did not look much shorter than before, either. His inquisitive blue eyes scanned the room after he regained his focus.

"Ben? Are you okay?" Reed stretched up to meet him & slip a blue blanket onto him.

He answered, "Sure, why wouldn't I – AAHHHHHH! Reed! Your…your body! What…what's going on? Are _you_ okay?"

"Reed…Ben! What's happening?" Alicia asked.

Ben lost his footing & fell from the platform, although Susan could hold him up with her force field. She, Johnny & Azula had entered in perfect timing.

"What the blue blazes is going on?" muttered Ben.

"Blue blazes? Oh! Sorry!" Azula apologized, turning off her flames. Ben had seen her making hand movements with the fire.

Ben was probably on the verge of panicking, hanging upside down in mid-air like that. He made a very uncomfortable grunt as Susan put him back on his feet.

"Oh man, Reed! What did you do? He's HIDEOUS! It was bad before, but now…the horror!" said Johnny.

"Johnny! You're on fire!" gasped poor Ben.

"Boy, am I! Just wait, I've got more!" teased Johnny. Just then, Ben grabbed the same blanket & flew right into him. He was trying to put the flames out, pressing down on Johnny's face. That scene actually made my day!

Johnny was struggling to catch his breath, "Aaah! What are you --"

"It's okay, Johnny! I got ya! It's gonna be alright!" Ben stuttered.

Reed snatched back the blanket & wrapped around Ben's frame, pulling him backward, "Ben…stop! Calm down!"

Ben had yet to cool down, "What the heck happened to you guys? Who's _that_?" He glanced over at Alicia, whom I saw lost part of her previous smile. "Who are _they_?" he turned to Azula & I.

"Ben, what's the last thing you remember?" asked Reed.

"We're…we're gonna launch for the Space Station tomorrow. I'm piloting. You wanted to run some tests."

"Ah. Yes. This…may be my fault. You see, the brain actually creates new pathways to store memories," Reed shook his head once.

I failed to resist nodding in agreement. (it's a scientist thing…)

He continued, "When the sequencer reverted Ben back to his pre-Fantastic Four days, it seems to have reverted his memories as well."

"What's a 'Fantastic Four'? & why are my pants so big?" Ben looked down with his brows knitting together.

That's when my daughter laughed.

"So he has amnesia?" Susan questioned.

"Not exactly…those memories, those experiences…they never happened for Ben. The flight, he space station, the FF…nothing," said Reed.

"Amnesia, huh? Cool," Johnny was saying very _ominously_.

"Ben, you owe me a thousand dollars. & you make my lunch every day. After you finish washing my cars!" he blurted out.

"Johnny!" Susan & I snapped quickly.

Ben wasn't pleased either, "You've all flipped out…or this is some kind of crazy dream! Pre-flight jitters…maybe bad salsa, I don't know. But I…I gotta get outta here!" He whirled around frantically. I just realized he was standing on the floor elevator platform…

"No problem!" chirped H.E.R.B.I.E, activating the elevator. Ben disappeared below us, still in a state of unrest.

We were going to go after him, before (according to Reed) he would wreck any contraptions strewn about the entire penthouse. Johnny & I decided to go down the shaft first. As soon as the elevator came back up, the rest were to hitch a ride to catch up.

"Ben, chill out! You're acting like this is weird or something," Johnny told Ben while leaning against a wall.

"We're here to help, Ben," I reassured him but to no avail. His mind was caught up in being in the wrong timeframe, without him realizing it.

Susan had accidentally gone invisible & had to reappear to him in ill timing. "AAH! Suzy? You too? You've all turned into monsters!" Ben panicked some more. So much so that he had an arm curved out to guard his upper body as he backed away.

"Ben, you have to listen," said Azula, cornering him along with Johnny & his sister.

"Ben, it's okay…we're your friends! Let us explain!" said Susan. Ben escaped the circle formed by the three of them; he couldn't be prevailed on to calm down. However, we couldn't force him into doing so – for that'd bring about more predicaments if you asked me.

Reed had blocked the large door right behind him, body stretched out wide. He tried consoling his friend, "I know all of this may seem…odd…but --"

The poor guy switched direction, spinning around & knocking Johnny over to fall on Azula. In a short time, he took the main elevator all the way down. Reed was on his tail, & could persuade him to come back in & save him from 'attacks' of a number of hungry reporters outside.

We seated ourselves in the living area, Ben in the middle of the sofa. For some reason, Johnny had left for an 'important' matter. Ben had a palm over his forehead, "So let me get this straight. Reed can stretch. The kid goes on fire. & Suzy turns invisible. So what do _you_ three do?"

"I'm your friend," uttered a sad Alicia. Her relationship with Ben would be in tangles if nothing was done.

"I'm Reed's colleague & this is my daughter. I operate a robotic supersuit, & well, she goes on fire too," I explained.

"Oh. Good. So, uh, did I have powers, too?"

H.E.R.B.I.E. had an announcement, "Hi, everyone! Guess what? The Mole Man is attacking a lab outside the city!" The conversation had to be delayed. Luckily I was all strapped up in armour for the emergency.

"'Mole Man?' Who the heck is Mole Man?" said Ben.

"It's a long story," Reed answered.

"You can tell me on the way there," Ben stood up & smiled. The smile faded when Reed stopped him with an elongated arm. "Ben, I – I think you should stay here with Alicia. This will be dangerous," cautioned Reed.

We began marching to the nearby lift, leaving the couple behind us.

"We'll fill in for you, buddy," Azula was telling Ben, tapping him on the shoulder. I read the obvious look of confusion on his face; us leaving for a mission must've been quite a precipitance for him. He was probably hankering for answers that would only come later.

"Dangerous? But what if they need me? I'm their pilot…I was in the air force, I used to clobber people all the time!" were Ben's last words I heard as the elevator doors were shut.


	2. Audacity

We arrived at the Pegasus Labs: a tad too late. All we could watch was a gargantuan-sized arm appear out of a gargantuan hole, grab hold of the lab's geothermal extractor lying nearby, & disappearing once again into the hole.

Two of the lab technicians were safe, at least, for Reed lugged them out of harm's way (or 'arm's way', rather) before either of them were crushed.

"We need to be cautious. Without Ben, we may not be able to handle the Mole Man & a legion of monsters," warned Reed. I too felt the aura of unseen danger pervading the air…At this stage, we needed to amp up our guard.

"So, this is the calm before some kind of storm, right?" asked Azula.

"You could say that," Susan answered.

I joined them & said, "Yes. We need everyone, & I mean _everyone_. The six of us, somehow..."

"Then you're going to LOVE me when I tell you what I've been up to!" squeaked a rather hyperactive Johnny. Susan, Reed & I exchanged glances in anticipation of an inconvenience. I was left wondering what was going to be so laudable in his sudden mystery action.

We proceeded back to the 'B' building – my new name for the Baxter Building, of course - only to find unexpected visitors lounging about in the training room that Johnny led us to.

Susan's jaw dropped, I think, & she uttered slowly, "You have got to be kidding."

"Nope! I…set up auditions!" said Johnny. Susan was not alone; I thought the idea of the auditions pretty rash too. We all stood behind the glass panes above the gym area, peering down on one too many superheroes awaiting their attempt to fill in The Thing's place in the Fantastic Four.

"Of all the…I can't believe you'd think of replacing Ben! He's _family_!" Johnny's sister barked, in the 'older sibling' sort of tone.

But the words proved harmless to Johnny when my robotic ears eavesdropped on him whispering to Reed, "We can replace HER while we're at it." Reed perhaps felt his jaw was about to drop too, & was lost for words.

"I heard that!" retorted Susan.

Azula sounded internally enraged as she spoke to me, "You know something? _I've just lost my appetite_." I felt rather oblivious to the somewhat random thing she had just said. It had been a long time since she sounded this serious. Like me, she wielded a kind of craving for fairness in all matters, except she had yet to keep her thoughts in check with more patience. I had been down that road before. In metaphors, it was a bumpy road of realization that it's **better to rule your own spirit than take a city. **Before I could clarify what she meant, she stormed ahead of me - to grab Johnny by one shoulder & twisted him round to face her.

"You can stop impressing me now. This," she pointed firmly at the candidates below, "is nothing close to impressive."

"What did I do?" he was squealing in his petulance.

"Don't pretend to be a blur. You," she snapped, "couldn't care less about anything without your name written on it."

"Azula…we…," Susan turned to her. Reed did the same.

"Sorry, guys. I'm done. Ben still needs to piece a few things together," said my daughter. Oh, dear; this was a sharp turn in the course of the day. She whirled 180 to leave us to the candidates, vanishing behind a sharp corner of the corridor.

Susan said with a glare, "Smooth move, Johnny."

"What was that all about, Dr. O? She's too sensitive! Go give her a pep talk or something!" her brother approached me.

My daughter used wise words. Quite frankly, I felt as disappointed as she was. The difference was she just couldn't keep herself in check. A loud sigh left my mouth, prefacing what I was to say next, "Jonathan, the pep talk would do you more good."

Abruptly, Azula popped in her head once more, "By the way, while I'm sensitive, _you're_ the insensitive one here." She had been listening; I had to give her some space, though. She'd mull the matter over by herself.

The four of us who remained readied ourselves for the auditions.

First was Captain Ultra, who pulled off impressive feats for a novice-level superhero – except when Johnny did a fiery thumb's up, the very _courageous_ captain passed out. Next was the mischievous Frog-Man whose head banged the ceiling too early in his audition. The following contestant showcased his tornado rodeo abilities too fast before he disclosed his name. Due to his impatience, our audition table was blown over by his gusts. "Next," groaned Johnny.

Squirrel Girl had a promising, professional attitude - but frankly, we all agreed how ineffective her powers might be. She could summon the little adorable critters to do her biding, but still. Then came a short man with laughable kung fu skills. I noticed Reed cocking his head in absolute wonder. Should I become a full-time martial arts instructor, I would have _loved_ to whip this man's skills into shape. Flatman was next in line but his abilities weren't up to standard. He was like a downgraded Mr. Fantastic & I think Reed was partially offended by his confidence.

The final contestant carried a briefcase; I supposed she rushed her from her workplace. Johnny underestimated her, but she was exactly what we needed – an arsenal of immense strength known as the She-Hulk.

"We could use an extra hand against the Mole Man," Reed shook her hand.

My head moved to the side & a little upward. Azula & Ben had been watching, & on Ben's face was a disappointed look worthy of much pity. He walked away with Azula sighing behind him.

It wasn't so bad in interval for the blaring alarm to go off, signaling to us that the Mole Man had moved his next chess piece. "Hmmm…what size are you?" Reed enquired of She-Hulk in a hurry.

Via earpiece, I relayed a question to Azula, "You coming?"

"No. Let me watch over Ben, in case something comes up," she replied in a flat tone.

"Alright. I'll leave you be this time," I sighed as well.

Reed, Susan, She-Hulk & Johnny hopped into the Fantasticar, whereas I piloted my latest vehicle: my new jet to share with Azula named the _Ounce_. It was another name for the snow leopard, & I relished the catchy sound of the word. I had requested to modify one of L.Y.'s private jets, coating it with armour like that of my suit except it was much thicker. With some colleagues, I added on features such as weaponry & many others to beef up the _Ounce_.

Through the open earpiece comms systems, I heard Susan later asking in the Fantasticar, "Do you have any idea what the Mole Man's plan is?"

"H.E.R.B.I.E., Ozai & I are trying to figure that out right now. We know it's bad, & that he has a head start," responded Reed.

"Don't sweat it, She-Hulkie. If things get too tough out there, I'll protect you," Johnny was saying.

On the scene of the attacks of Mole Man's minions, we were pit against Molloids & volcanic creatures launching lava projectiles at us. One of those walking volcanic rocks hit me hard on the shoulder, & I felt some of its lethal heat.

Some Molloids sprayed Johnny with their sticky goo, 'fastening' him to a wall. She-Hulk was punched hard too, landing nearby before she teased him wih a "My hero."

"Don't make me angry, big guy…you wouldn't like me when I'm angry!" she then threatened when the monster pressed her flat with its foot.

"You may be rock-hard, but you'll be knocked out stone-cold," I said while lashing back at the monster who attacked me earlier. A high kick at an appropriate speed brought my adversary to the ground.

"That's a great line! I'm with you," muttered Jennifer (She-Hulk) next to me.

Reed alerted us with the information update, "This lab has been working on a device that utilizes geothermal forces & converts them to energy. Theoretically, if they were combined with the engine from the Mole Man's last attack…"

"Reed! Get to the point!" said Susan, impatient.

"The Mole Man could make a massive bomb."

I backed Reed up, "It would unleash a force with phenomenal magnitude upon the city, given the additional energy of the Earth itself."

"Oh," was all Susan said.

"Hey! Maybe you should worry a little less about a massive, destructive bomb & more about me! They gooed my arm!" whined her brother.

I wanted to lighten Susan's burden for the time being; therefore I bluntly told him, "Not to sound like a villain, but Azula was right. You've got attitude to work on." That kept him quiet, at least.

Jennifer mocked him, "Did they mess up your manicure, tough guy?"

"Yeah," he stared at the adhesive hindering his movement.

Very well, I said to myself in my head. A weak laser beam should do the trick.

"Thanks," Johnny grinned an imp-like grin once I had blasted the goo around him to bits.

I growled in slight complaint & carried on with the fight, for I didn't have all day to tend to what trivial things he'd get into.


	3. The Cavern

Reed's warning failed to pay off, for in a time too fast, cracks in the concrete below us caused to ground to part. I turned to see Jennifer & Johnny falling at a speed too great for me to jump to their aid.

A few seconds elapsed & I lost my footing: the ground caved in beneath me & gravity pulled me down. My body felt too heavy for me to get it to leap up against the force. The empty darkness swallowed me up too quickly, before I could even activate my suit's lighting systems.

Upon awakening, tightness was all I could describe restricting every part of me. From the left I sensed that Reed & Jennifer were struggling too. Someone's incessant hissing voice echoed across the place. Those echoes were never ending; we were in no doubt a deep cavern. Its ceiling opened very narrowly to the outside – we were lucky how the few rays of sunlight coming in didn't do us a disservice.

Poor Susan had passed out, sprawled on the rock nearby. Even worse, Johnny had been encased in a gruesome-looking membrane made by the Molloids. Not to be an absolute softie, but I felt bad for ignoring his word of thanks minutes ago.

"Ew! Are all the FF's bad guys so _ugly_?" She-Hulk flinched, looking at a ghastly form cackling above us. I had finally met Mole Man in person.

He hissed, "Ugly, you say? Once I've blocked out the sun you may not think so."

Jennifer forcibly tugged so free herself but failed. She grumbled, "No…I'm pretty sure I will."

"She-Hulk, wait! Your restraints are attached to the Engine. If you break them, you could overload the device," uttered Reed. I see…we were strapped to that very device so easily robbed from the lab.

"Overload, as in 'boom'?" she asked.

"Correct," I butted in at a good time.

"Big time," Reed supported me, "I've been inspecting the technology here. He's created a bomb that's powered by the Earth itself. It's really quite brilliant."

"I would have gone with 'nuts' personally, but I guess brilliant works," came her comment.

I found that funny & commented, "Actually, the nuttier a scientist seems, the more potential he has in the field."

"What do you hope to accomplish here?" Reed shouted aloud to the Mole Man. "Setting off this device may activate every volcano on Earth, but you do realize it would also fill Subterranea with magma, right?"

"Yes, well…maybe! But the surface world will PAY!" the villain's voice shook.

"Wow…he's all kinds of crazy, isn't he?" said She-Hulk.

Ignoring us all, Mole Man spat, "Activate the machine!" His troop of smaller minions resembled live sludge! Each of them piled on top of the other, & flipped a latch of the device we were strapped to. Soon, electric pulses emanated from the extractor's base while hot lava & plumes of smoke burst forth from deep in the rocky floor.

Reed's comm device let out a beep of hope. "Thanks for the update, H.E.R.B.I.E. Jennifer, we should have a window of opportunity in about three seconds," he said. That sounded very hopeful to me.

"Then let's break through that window…," I filled in just nicely.

"IT'S CLOBBERING TIME!"

An object flew into the cavern so suddenly that my gaze was fastened on it. Ben? & Azula? Ah, they had caught a ride on the Fantasticar Mach One. People would ridicule it for it resembled 'the essential bathtub', but Reed told me a while back how it was a functional mode of transport.

"YOU? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" cried out Mole Man. The Mach One smashed perfectly into a volcanic monster about to attack us.

"Dad, hold on!" yelled Azula. She & Ben leapt off the vehicle. My cuffs were nothing against my daughter's powers.

"The three of you should go after Mole Man! I'll handle myself!" directed Reed.

I hesitated momentarily but put confidence in Mr. Fantastic's capability. He was going to shut down the powered engine of the extractor.

"Now!" Reed barked at Jennifer. She then used the side of her ability which her cousin Bruce (the Hulk himself) did not have. At will, she reverted to human form so her wrists could slip through the cuffs.

Mole Man had seen her at work, gasping, "What? You…you can't do that! _The Thing never did that_!"

"C'mon, we gotta go after him!" my daughter alerted She-Hulk.

"Why don't I handle the Human Torch?" asked Jennifer, pointing to Johnny's 'cage'.

Azula was deep in thought indeed. "Knock yourself out," she finally chuckled.

The situation heightened to become more interesting – we dashed to ambush Mole Man. I was first to scale the steep rock he stood upon, & landed with both feet on top of him. As I released him, he threatened with his staff to blast me. Azula snatched the weapon & hurled it far beyond his reach.

"Do away with your scheme, Mole Man," said Azula. He exercised great denial that he'd been defeated, & mumbled unintelligible words.

"Ben! You came after us! Man, that was dumb!" Johnny was heard exclaiming behind us.

I had a paw on Mole Man's cape, but not a gag over his mouth. "Destroy them! Shatter the cavern floor!" he ordered. Spread across the area, his minions responded by moving about faster. One of the larger ones threw me head over heels at uncommonly high speed, making Mole Man free to move. Azula had been 'bear hugged' by another monster, which carried her away from the villain.

I got up to see the cavern coming down in shambles. "Pick up the pace, Reed!" I roared to my friend at the edge of the cavern, after bringing up the volume of my internal speaker. Azula joined me after breaking the creature's firm grip on her.

I saw that Johnny had darted out the cavern by himself. Did he care a single bit to have a little more team spirit? Reed was losing time, "Almost…_shatter the cavern floor?" _ He let out his anxiety on the subject, "Susan!"

Susan had woken up as if on the perfect queue, & defended us all with a force field. Brilliant-coloured lava was starting to gush out the walls & violent cracks in the ground made way for more molten rock. In fact, the lava overflowed in so short a time that our shield was coated completely for a few seconds. All the liquid solidified before long, & we were technically underground by now. However, Susan's strength wasn't waning & thus conveyed the assurance of our successful getaway.

She told Jennifer to put her hand through the force field & make a hole in the ground above. Gradually, Susan reshaped the field bubble into a wide platform as we hovered higher.

"This isn't happening! I destroyed you!" spat Mole Man from his safe zone.

"You may want to reassess that assertion," said Reed.

Ben suggested, "Just clobber him, Einstein!"

"I won't be captured! Not this time!" hissed our opponent. Reed motioned to me & we both sprang upon Mole Man.

"Sometimes, Mole Man, you got to **bring to light what's hidden in darkness**," I told him.

"That…will never happen!" he retorted. He met with an opportunity to zap Reed with his staff. It looked like it packed a powerful punch…My friend whinced in pain so I blasted Mole Man rapidly to stop the attack. I sent him flying several metres away, hopefully I had rendered him weak enough for now.

"Reed, the whole place is coming down!" warned Susan.

"Come on, Dad!" said Azula.

Mole Man had picked himself up; I glared at him with a similar feeling my daughter felt: the one regarding injustice. Our villain was slinking away into the Earth's deep chambers amid a crumbling cavern. After recollecting myself, I gave Ben a ride while the others took Susan's flying platform to exit.

"Thanks a bunch, doc," said Ben.

I leapt with all the energy I had, replying, "My pleasure."

We were back on level ground.

Jennifer wasn't satisfied, "So after all that, the Mole Man _gets away_?"

"Don't worry, he'll be back…we'll just have to settle for saving the world this time," muttered Susan.

"Yeah, & I think I'm going to quit while I'm ahead. You guys aren't superheroes; you're…a family," She-Hulk announced.

"I second that," I remarked.

She carried on, "I can't take Ben's place, & besides, it doesn't seem like he needs replacing."

"That's exactly the point. Except _some_ people don't get it," hinted Azula. I guessed she was glaring at Johnny from the corner of her eye.

"What? Oh, come on! Stay! Please? You could replace Sue!" wailed Johnny.

"Johnny, I'm standing right here!" his sister gasped.

"We'll talk later…," he whispered to Jennifer soon after.

Much later, after Ben had been 'cured' again to regain his memories & powers, we had a celebration in the kitchen & dining area, as you might've expected. We invited She-Hulk to join in. Something was amiss though…where was our Chef #2? Azula was in the lab to see Reed perform the second atomic resequencing, but was nowhere within sight. I didn't think Ben would have to whip up the meals since he was the one being _celebrated_.

"Found her, Ozai?" enquired Jennifer, who came to me.

I hadn't. I couldn't reach her through the comms system; she possibly shut down or did not bring her earpiece if she wasn't in the building.

Worries plagued me already, but I guessed she needed some time away from Johnny for a while. I could only hope so.


End file.
